Two divers die in Johnson Sea Link

Two divers die in Johnson Sea Link mishap

Last updated: March 31, 2020 at 13:20 pm

[1973] Edwin Clayton Link, 31, and Albert Dennison Stover, 51, died from carbon dioxide poisoning after the submersible Johnson Sea Link was entangled for over 24 hours at a depth of 110 m (360 ft) on the USS Fred T. Berry artificial reef. After failed attempts by U.S. Navy divers and a Navy submersible, the Johnson Sea Link was freed by the commercial salvage vessel A.B. Wood II using an underwater television camera and grappling hook. The submersible pilot, Archibald “Jock” Menzies, and scientist Robert Meek survived. The designer of the submersible and father of Clayton Link, Edwin A. Link, subsequently designed an unmanned Cabled Observation and Rescue Device (CORD) that could free trapped submersibles.

Department of Transportation / Coast Guard Marine Casualty Report. United States Coast Guard. March 12, 1975.

Johnson Sea Link submersible during the Life on the Edge 2005 Exploration. Photo by Life on the Edge 2005 Exploration, NOAA-OE

Johnson Sea Link II is launched from the R/V Seward Johnson over the South Atlantic Bight. Photo by NOAA

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